Automatic safety car stop



Dec. 1, 1953 c. w. STICKLER, JR

AUTOMATIC SAFETY CAR STOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1950 MN NM QM. NN

Dec. 1, 1953' c. w. STICKLER, JR

AUTOMATIC SAFETY CAR STOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1950 Patented Dec. 1, 1953 AUTOMATIC SAFETY CAR STOP Charles W. Stickler, Jr., Reading, Pa.

Application March 24, 1950, Serial No. 151,686

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in an automatic safety car stop, and more particularly to a combined car stop and derailer for use in connection with various pieces of rolling stock used in mines, quarries and other surface railroads Where cars are spotted for such purposes as filling, emptying and storage and where the movement of cars may be restricted to unidirectional movement as required for safety or operational purposes.

One object of the invention is to provide an automatic safety car stop which can be effectively used to hold cars in position while being loaded, unloaded or for other operational purposes and which will provide a derailer for safety purposes by causing a slight twisting movement of the first wheel to strike the stop, and thus exerting an outward lateral thrust on the car so that the forward wheels will-leave the rail and prevent undue damage to objects in the path of the car.

Another object is to provide a combined safety car stop and derailer which includes a horizontally swinging member adapted to be presented in the path of the wheel of a car, and to provide said horizontally swinging member with an arcuately;

curved wheel engaging surface to prevent retrograde movement and to provide an oblique opposed surface on said horizontally swinging memher which is adapted to be engaged by the wheel of a car to move the stop out of the path of the wheel and thus permit the car to travel past said stop when moving in a direction opposite to the direction of retrograde movement.

Another object is to provide an automatic car 'stop which may be readily applied and removed from the rail of a trackway, and is so constructed base plate can be'separately affixed to the rail and the stop member can be removably and quickly attached depending upon the requirements in the handling of cars. Thus, the horizontally swinging stop member can be quickly and easily removed from a base plate and interchanged or positioned on another base plate located in a different vicinity along the trackway.

A further object is to provide an automatic car stop which in its normal position on a rail inclined upwardly, enables a car wheel traveling upgrade to swing the car stop member out of the path of the wheels of the car until the wheels have cleared the member, but which will be automatically returned into the path of the car wheel to prevent retrograde movement of the car unless the automatic stop member is released by manual, mechanical or other means.

Another object is to'provide an automatic car stop which can be afiixed to the rail of a trackway in such a manner that it will not interfere with the movement of mining machines which generally have parts extending lower than the cars and the axles upon which the cars are supported. Thus, the horizontally swinging stop member may be quickly and easily removed to permit the passage of mining equipment such as loading and unloading machines having parts and appendages which extend below the axis of the supporting wheels.

Another object is to provide an automatic car stop which is comparatively simple in construction and operationand which will not become inoperative as a result of being contaminated with foreign matter such as mud, sand, ice and the like.

Another object is'to' provide an automatic safety car stop which enhances the safety factor in handling rail trafiic and insures positive action through the use of a device which contains a minimum number of parts and is adapted to withstand hard use without faiiure in operation.

A further object isto provide an automatic car stop of the above-mentioned character having shock absorbing means, and will reduce the shock imparted to a car beingstopped by the yielding action of the shock absorbing means. Thus, heavily loaded cars-striking the stop during normal operation and during their retrograde movement into engagement with the stop will not be jarred unduly by the force of impact.

' Another object is to provide an automatic car stop including a horizontally swinging member which is adapted to be yieldingly urged into the path of a car wheel, anol to provide mutually engaging surfaces on said swinging member which will engage corresponding surfaces of the track rail to limit the swinging movement of said horizontally swinging member in'a direction transversely of the rail. Said stop member is thus permitted to be moved out of the path of a car wheel when the wheel engages said member against the yielding action of 'a spring member, but will be held in position by the wheel engaging said member when the car moves in a retrograde direction.

Another object is to provide an automatic car stop in which the horizontally swinging member is provided with a combined actuating spring and handle which can be used for manually displacing the car stop and releasing the yielding spring pressure on the horizontally swinging member as desired.

Other objects andadvantagesof the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the auto matic car stop illustrating the horizontally swinging stop member in its operative position with respect to a tracxway rail andshowingportions'of the spring mechanism and manual control broken away to illustrate various structural details of the automatic car stop and derailer.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the automatic car stop showing the base affixed to the flange of' a trackway rail and illustrating the horizontally swinging stop member in its operative position.

Figure 3 is a top elevational view ofthe automatic car stop showing the horizontally swinging stop member overlying the tread portion of a trackway rail-and further illustrating the manner in which the base plate is clampingly held'in position on the lower flanges of the rail.

Figure 4 is a top elevational view similar to Figure 3; but showing the horizontally swinging stop member in its displaced position against the yielding actionof the combined handle and spring member.

Figure 5 is a top elevational View similar to Figures 3 and 4, but showing the actuating spring released and the horizontally swinging stop member moved to an inoperative position.

, Figure 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the irregular line 6--6 of Figure 3 showing the manner in which the base plate is clampingly secured to the rail flanges and also illustrating the manner in which the horizontally swinging stop member is removably supported for horizontal to and fro rocking movement.

Figure 7 is a top elevational view of a modified form of the invention in which shock absorbing means is provided in the form of a leaf spring bolted or otherwise affixed to the base and arranged to engage an adjacent trackway tie to thus absorb shocks imparted to the car stop by heavily loaded equipment, and

Figure 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure '7 illustrating a slide plate interposed between the clamping plate of thebase and one of the rail flanges to permit slight sliding movement of thecar stopwhen the same is engaged by the wheel of rolling stock equipment while moving in a retrograde direction.

In the drawings, and more in detail, attention is directed to Figures 1 to 6 inclusive wherein for the purpose of convenience of illustration the automatic car stop is illustrated as being aflixedto a trackway rail generally designated T of conventional construction and said rail includes opposed flanges likewise designated F connected to a central web portion W connecting a tread portion R. It is intended that the automatic car stop be affixed to the rail T to extend in a position such that the horizontally swinging member will be presented to the tread R of the rail from the wheel flange side of the tread R. The automatic car stop generally designated 5 includes a base plate 6 which is formed of a casting and has one end portion cut away as at 7 to provide a rail flange receiving seat. The inner side of the cut away portion 1 is undercut as at 8 (Figure 6) to provide a rail flange engaging hp 9, while the opposite end edge of the plate 6 is stepped as at H) to provide a longitudinal rib H. The seat portion F of the plate is recessed as at 2 to facilitate easy positioning of the plate with re.. spect to the opposed flanges F of the rail T.

The base plate 6 is provided adjacent one end withapair of openings M for receiving clamping bolts l5 which are to clampingly secure rail flange engaging clamp plates it in position to securely. lock the base plate 6 to the opposed flanges of the rail T. The upper ends of the bolts liarethreaded for receiving nuts I! and washers l8 are interposed between the clamping plates l5 and the retaining and clampingnutsl'l.

Theopposite end of the clamping plate 6 is shapedto providea laterally extending vertical wall portion and an enlarged boss l9and2i) respectively. The vertical wall portion [9 and enlarged boss 28 are connected by a web 21- to reinforce the structure and increase its rigidity. The under surface of the plate 6 is cut away as at 22 and is also providedwith integrated reinforcing webs 23 to likewise increase the. rigidity of the structure.

The enlarged boss 20 is provided with a vertical bore (Figure 6) which is adapted toreceive the reduced end 21 of an enlarged bearing, member 28, which projects abovethe base plate 6 to provide a relatively large bearing surface of considerable strength for the horizontally swinging car stop. The lower endof the bearing member 28 is threaded as at 30 and a nut. 3! is received on said threaded portion. to securely hold the bearing member 28 in position.

The wheel engaging car stop member is likewise formed of a casting and includes a round hub portion 32 having an internal bore 33 corresponding to the Shape and size of the enlarged bearing member 28. The bore 33 is of a diameter to permit a free sliding fit on the bearing mem ber 28 and simultaneously permit horizontal swinging movement thereof. Formed integral with the round hub member 32 is a tangentially extending. arm 34 which is notched as at 35 to provide angular surfaces 36 and 31 to engage the upper and side walls of the rail tread R (Figure 6). The arm 34 is formed with an enlarged outer end portion 38 having an arcuately curved surface 39 which is adapted to be presented above the rail tread R when in its operative position to receive the curved tread portion of a railway wheel on various pieces of rolling stock. The arm 34 is provided with an oblique surface 40 to be engaged by the wheel of a piece of rolling stock. to move the car stop to the position shown in Figure 4 and permit the car to pass in one direction. The horizontally swinging car sto arm 34 extends upwardly from the round hub portion 32 which permits the bearing member 28 to be mounted such that the upper end thereof does not extend beyond the upper surface of the rail tread R.

Formed integral with the horizontal swinging arm 34 and the base portion of the hub 32 is a projection 42, and said projection is provided with an opening for accommodating a bearing pin 44 which extends through a pair of upper and lower links 45 and is held in place by a cotter key 46a. The bearing pin 44 extends through alined openings in the links 45, and the links are arranged one on each side of the projection 42. The outer ends of the links 45 are also provided with openings for receiving a pin 46 similar to the pin 44, and a screw eye 47 is disposed between the links 45 so that the pin 48 will pass through the eye portion of said screw eye. The free threaded end 48 of the screw eye 41 has secured thereto a leaf spring 49 which is held'in place by opposed clamping nuts 50 received on the threaded end 48 of the screw eye and locked in place by means of a locking nut 5!. The leaf spring 49 is provided on one end with a handle 52, and said leaf spring is adapted to be received in a vertical notch 53 (Figure 4) so that the horizontally swinging car stop member 34 will be normally urged to assume the position shown in Figure 3. The leaf spring 49 is provided with a pair of opposed stops 54 which are positioned to engage the vertical wall I9 on opposite sides of the slot 53. Thus, when the horizontally swinging arm 34 is moved to the position shown in Figure 4 by the wheel of a car traveling in a direction from left to right, said arm will be yieldingly forced to its operative position as shown in Figure 3. I

In operation, the base plate 6 is clamped to the flange F of a trackway rail T in the vicinity in which loading or unloading of the cars or car is to take place. The horizontally swinging arm 34 is then placed in position on the bearing mem ber 28, and the handle 52 is manipulated to position the leaf spring 49 in the slot 53. With the car stop in the position above described, the enlarged end thereof as at 38 will overlie the tread portion R of the rail and will assume the position shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 6. Let it be assumed that a car is moving in the right hand direction such that the front wheel of the car will engage the oblique surface 40 of the horizontally swinging arm 34 and displace the same against the yielding action of the leaf spring 49. After the wheel has passed far enough to the right, the horizontally swinging arm 34 will return so that the angular edge surface 31 of the notch 35 will engage the side wall of the rail tread R. and limit the swinging movement thereof. In this position the enlarged portion 38 of the horizontally swing.- ing arm 34' overlies the tread portion R of the rail T such that the arcuately curved surface 39 is presented to the correspondingly curved tread portion of the railway car wheel. As the car is allowed to drift back, the enlarged portion 38 becomes seated and arrests the retrograde movement of the car.

If it is desired to release the car, the handle 52 is manipulated to swing the leaf spring 49 vertically and displace the same from the slot 53, after which the handle may be angularly displaced 180 so that the track man may exert a pull force thereon to displace the enlarged portion 38 of the horizontally swinging arm when the car has been moved suificiently away from the car stop and the wheel surface has been displaced from the arcuately curved surface 39'. This permits the car stop arm 34 to be moved to its inoperative position without necessitating the track man assuming an unduly stooped position and endangering his limbs while the car is being moved.

If desired, two or more base plates 6 may be secured to the rail T at convenient locations and the arm 34 may be removed by the track man and positioned selectively on the bearing member 6 28 of the base plate located at any one of the positions.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8, the base plate 5a is secured to the rail T in a slightly different manner. The base plate 5a includes a casting 6a having an undercut portion to provide a rail flange engaging lip 9a. The marginal end edge of the base plate 6a is stepped as at Illa and is provided with a recessed surface 1a to provide a seat for receiving the opposed rail flanges F.

A single locking plate Hia is supported on the shoulder Ila and is provided with an inner inclined surface l2a (Figure 8). The base Ed is provided with a pair of vertical bores l4a for receiving bolts l5a, and the upper threaded ends of the bolts are provided with retaining nuts Ila to urge the clamping plate 16a into frictional engagement with a spacer plate l8a, which is interposed between the inclined surface l2a and the correspondingly inclined surface of one of the rail flanges F. The spacer plate I8a is provided with a series of longitudinal grooves 18b to reduce friction and permit a slight sliding movement of the base plate 6a with respect to the rail T.

The base plate 6a has formed integral therewith a vertical wall 190. and an enlarged boss 2811 (Figure '7). The round hub 32a is received on a bearing member 2811 secured to the web 2m in substantially the same manner as described in the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, and formed integral with the round hub 32a is a horizontally swinging arm 34a which is provided with a notched undersurface and an enlarged angular end portion 380.. The enlarged angular end portion 38a is provided with an arcuately curved wheel engaging portion 39a, while the opposite side of the arm 34a is provided with a surface 48a which extends tangential to the round hub 32a and is directed obliquely to the trackway rail T. An extension or projection 42a is integrated with the arm 34a and round hub 32a, and has pivoted thereto a pair of opposed links 45a by means of a pin 44a. A screw eye 41a is pivotally mounted between the free ends of the links 45a by means of a similar pin 46a, and secured to the threaded end 48a of the screw eye is a leaf spring 49a having a handle on the free end thereof as at 52a. The leaf spring 49a is adapted to be received in the vertical slot 53a of the vertical wall l9a as before, so that the horizontally swinging arm 34a will be yieldingly urged into its operative position as shown in Figure 7.

Secured to the centralmost portion of the base plate 6a is a leaf spring composed of a series of spring leaves 88a which are curved slightly and are of stepped lengths. The spring leaves 60a are anchored to the base to the vertical wall thereof opposite the enlarged end 38a of the horizontally swinging arm 34a by means of an anchoring bolt Bla which passes through suitable openings in the spring leaves 68a and has its threaded end received in a correspondingly threaded opening 92a in the base 6a. The ends of one of the leaf springs 68a are curved as at 63a to provide engaging surfaces for engaging the vertical Wall of a railroad tie B. Thus, heavily loaded cars will engage the stop member and urge the base plate 6a in a direction against the yielding action of the leaf spring 60a which absorbs the shock of the impact when the car is coming to rest. The operation of the horizontally swinging arm 34a is identical to that shown and described in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, and the handle 52a can be manipulated to release the spring pressure as explained above, and the horizontally swinging arm 34a can be removed. by

displacing the same from the enlarged bearing member 28a.

Itis to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred embodiments thereof and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In an automatic car stop, a base plate hav ing a seating surface provided with an undercut portion for receiving one of the flanges of a trackwa-y rail, a clamping plate bolted to the base plate for engaging the other flange of said rail and clampingly securing said base plate to said rail, a vertical bearing member extending upwardly from said base plate on one side of said rail, a

horizontally swinging arm having an inverted -cup-shaped well portion readily detachably supported by said bearing member and having an enlarged end portion provided with a curved wheel engaging surface, said arm being provided with a vertical wall surface extending obliquely with respect to the tread surface of the rail so as to be engaged by the wheel of a car to move said arm in a direction away from said rail, a spring arm pivotally attached to said horizontally swinging arm and means on the base memher for locking said spring arm in position such that the spring arm will normally urge the enlarged end of the horizontal swinging arm into a wheel engaging position above the tread surface of said rail.

2. In an automatic car stop, a base plate having an undercut surface to provide a rail flange seat, a clamping plate secured to the base plate in opposed relation to said undercut portion for clamping said base plate to the flange of a track way rail, a bearing member extending upwardly from the base plate on one side of said rail, a horizontally swinging arm supported by said bearing member having an enlarged free end with a curved wheel engaging surface adapted to overlie the tread surface of said rail and be presented in the path of the wheel of a car to arrest movement of said car, said arm being provided with a vertical oblique surface with respect to the tread surface of the rail so as to be enga by the wheel of a car to move said enlarged end of said arm in a direction away from the tread surface of the rail, a link pivotally attached to said arm and a leaf spring pivotally and rockably secured to said link, said base being provided with a slot for receiving the free swinging end of the leaf spring to hold the same against movement such that the leaf spring will yieldingly urge the horizontally swinging arm into a position above the tread surface of the rail.

3. In an automatic car stop, a base plate, a clamping plate secured to the base plate in opposed relation to a rail supporting portion for clamping said base plate to the flange of a trackway rail, a bearing member extending upwardly from the .base plate on one side of said rail, a horizontally swinging arm supported by said bearing member having an enlarged free end with a curved wheel engaging surface adapted to overlie the tread surface of said rail and be presented in the path of the wheel of a car to arrest movement of said car, said arm being provided with a vertical oblique surface adapted to be engaged by the wheel of a car to move said enlarged end of said arm in a direction away from the tread surface of the rail, a leaf spring pivotally and rockably secured to said arm and having a handle at the endthereof, said base being provided with a slot for receiving the free swinging end of the leaf spring adjacent said handle to hold the same against movement such that the leaf spring will yieldingly urge the horizontally swinging arm into a position above the tread surface of the rail.

CHARLES W. STICKLER, J's.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 491,061 Frysinger Jan. 31, 1893 752,875 Wirsching Feb. 23, 1904 1,398,896 Foster Nov. 29, 1921 1,505,591 Edelblute Aug. 19, 1924 2,210,635 Richardson Aug. 6, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 331,398 Germany Oct. 28, 1919 111,205 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1917 

